sherryberry

Teacups, so pretty at night:

Fireworks:

Tower of Terror, seen from the sixth floor terrace:

Grizzly Peak:

This is what World of Color looks like from the terrace, at Grand Californian. You can't see the projections on the water from there:

Sorry, I've been away from this report. I went back to work the day after flying home and have been working since (with a bad cold that I came home with). I was able to get some of the pictures from Kenneth's camera.

Mickey and the Magical Map:

Great job with this report.  I especially liked the comparisons you made at the end.

 

I was wondering what you thought about Fantasmic?  I know you got FP's for it, but how did you like it compared to WDW's version?  The consensus seems to be that Disney fans prefer Disneyland's version. I understand why. But, I hated the seating situation when we went last year.  So much so, that I didn't make it a priority to go back on this visit.  They hadn't started the FP's yet when we were there last year, so I'm interested in hearing if the viewing area situation is improved with FP.

 

Also, did you get to see the Disneyland Forever fireworks?  The twins made sure that we watched them from an optimum spot that they found by trial and error (about 3/4 of the way down Main Street-near the clock).  I wasn't expecting to be as impressed as I was.

 

One more thing- on this trip, we flew in and out of John Wayne Airport (SNA).  It is way closer and so much more convenient to Anaheim than LAX.  You may want to look into flights there for your next trip.

 

TCD

I'll be honest with you about Fantasmic. I'm not really much of a fan of that show. That being said, it's been a really long time since I've seen DisneyWorld's. But, I had heard chatter from several sources that Disneyland's version is much better. We did get the fastpasses, but should have shown up much earlier to get into our section (I think we showed up about 15 minutes into the return window). It was also pretty confusing for us to figure out where exactly to go. It just seemed kind of chaotic in that whole area. I think we had the yellow section, so when we heard someone say that they were at the entrance for yellow, we ran over there. Well, it was pretty packed in that section (because people were sitting on the ground and all spread out), so we took the only spot we could find, which was all the way to the right, behind some others. The cast members kept telling everyone they had to be within the taped area and that everyone would have to stand when the show started. The problem was that there wasn't really room for people to get in that area until everyone was standing. I don't care to ever go through that again. I just felt like it was something I had to do for our first visit. And I'm still not that crazy about the show. Lol.

We ended up not seeing the fireworks show and I'm kicking myself for that (we saw a little bit as we were leaving the park one night, but didn't have a spot we could stop in). We were so worried about riding certain things that we never made it a priority to see the fireworks. They started while we were on the Matterhorn one night and we watched them from right there (we could see the projections on small world). We really should have claimed a spot with a view of the castle and the buildings on Main Street. How early did you wait to claim your spot?

As far as the flight goes, Kenneth found a deal for a flight from Atlanta to LA and we jumped on it. That's actually where all of our vacation planning started. We had the flight booked before anything else. We had discussed trying to go sometime soon, but getting a cheap flight helped kickstart the whole thing. It would be nice to have a shorter ride to the hotel since I'll probably get sick every time I fly out there (may need to get stronger meds from the doctor next time).

Oh, I forgot to add! Paper fastpasses! At DisneyWorld, we used to give ours away if we knew we wouldn't be able to use them. We had Tower of Terror fastpasses on our last day and came out of the Aladdin show during the time slot they could be used. We had somewhere else we were trying to be by a certain time, so Kenneth stopped a couple of girls that were headed to the standby line. Their faces lit up, when they saw they could use them right then and there! I miss being able to do that at DisneyWorld.

We're home now. We've been napping on and off all day. Last night's flight was the worst flight I've ever experienced, turbulence-wise. I had taken Dramamine, but even that couldn't keep me from getting sick on the plane. I think there were several others that were struggling on the plane. When Kenneth pushed the button for the stewardess (I asked him to get me another sick bag, since I used mine), he looked back and they were trying to help someone else that was sick. Flying isn't for me. But it has to be done if I want to go back to Disneyland - and I do!

It was pretty out the window, when we were flying at night:

And we got our babies today! We were so happy to see them!

Kenneth took a lot of pictures on the camera on this trip. I'll try to get some of those pictures and post them here.

Some of my final thoughts:

* I liked some of the rides at Disneyland better than DisneyWorld - pirates was a longer ride and had the two drops, thunder mountain had some neat dynamite effects in one of the caves, haunted mansion had the Nightmare overlay (I'm a big fan of NBC), small world had the Disney and Pixar characters throughout the scenes, autopia takes each track in different directions so you're not always just side by side with other racers, buzz lightyear lets you hold the gun (instead of it being mounted to the ride vehicle)

* we rode the monorail, from Disneyland to downtown Disney and back, just to see everything from the monorail. Our plan was to ride it back to downtown Disney and get some earl of sandwich, before heading back to the room. When we got back to Disneyland, however, we were told that this was the final stop and we had to get off. After we got off, they started loading people on there. We were a little confused about that. We were thinking maybe they always unload at Disneyland, but when we got on the first time there was a couple that had stayed on there. So, I don't really know what all of that was about.

* this was our first time flying in to a Disney park. Disneyland doesn't have a magical express. There are shuttles you can book or you rent a car or take a taxi. We didn't want to spend the money to rent a car for the week, for it to just sit in the lot at the Grand Californian. So, we booked Super Shuttle because they seemed like the cheapest option for us. I think we each paid $17 each way. It was fine for what it was. They pick you up in a full size van and put your luggage in the back. And you ride with other people that are headed to the same area. When we first got to California, there were two other couples on the van when we got on. They dropped one couple off at the Anaheim Majestic Garden hotel. And then they dropped us off at the Grand Californian. The evening we were flying out, we were the last ones picked up before heading to the airport. I would use Super Shutte again because it's cheap, and it gets the job done.

* this was also our first time doing grocery delivery. We used Von's and ordered our groceries the day before we flew out of Atlanta. We scheduled the delivery time for Saturday evening, since we were scheduled to land about 2:30 in the afternoon. This also wouldn't interfere with a park day. Well, when our plane landed, I had two voicemails from the girl that pulls the order. She had given me until 1:30 to call her back (I missed that since I got the message at 2:30), because she was having trouble having payment go through on the card. She said what happens most of the time with this is that it's pulling the delivery address zip code, instead of the billing zip code, when they run the card. The funny thing is that when you place your order, they ask for your billing zip code. So I called customer service that evening and she said I had to re-order (it was easy to do) and make sure I put in the billing zip code. I called the next day and spoke to the girl that pulls the orders and made sure she was given the billing zip code. I apologized about missing her calls because we were still in the air. She said it actually happens a lot. We got our delivery later that day. We worked out the delivery time for when we would come back to the room and rest in the afternoon anyways. It was great to be able to have a kitchen full of groceries, without having to drive to the store to get it ourselves. I would definitely do this again.

Kenneth and I definitely want to go back to Disneyland. We will probably do it again in a couple of years. We don't have plans to get another annual pass at DisneyWorld in the near future either. We are going to camp at the Fort the first week of February. We planned on not going to the parks that week but my sister said she planned on getting us tickets for Christmas because her and my other sister would come down part of the week we're there. So I guess we'll do the parks one more time.

Thanks for posting your trip! I really enjoyed reading it!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you!

Really enjoyed your TR!

Thanks!

Now I want a hot dog. If anything, that article gave me some ideas on how to top hot dogs we have at home!

We did Tower of Terror. This is a little bit different from the one in Florida, so we didn't know when the drops would happen.

We also hit up the Corn Dog Castle for some lunch:

We also felt obligated to try the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail since we had been watching people, from our living room window, doing this.

One last shot, before leaving the park:

Now we're sitting at LAX, waiting to board the plane for our overnight flight back to Atlanta. I'm so excited about seeing the pups again! We had a pretty long day today, with no napping. I planned on getting everything packed last night, but we were doing laundry pretty late (didn't want to go home with anything dirty). We got up early this morning to pack and tidy up in the room a bit. We left our bags with bell services and headed over to California Adventure.

We watched the Aladdin show - I'm not really a show person, but I LOVED this show! It was great!

We rode the Monsters, Inc. ride and I thought this menu was pretty funny:

Great pics!! Your room looks amazing!!

Thanks! That room was awesome, but it ate up a lot of our DVC points! I told Kenneth when we go back, I want the same kind of room!

In and caught up. I also struggle with motion sickness. The minute you said no meds my stomach turned for you. Great pictures.

Thank you! The last time I flew was probably about ten years ago and I don't remember having as much trouble - and that was a non-stop between Tokyo and Atlanta!

You have some really good photos there!  Good job getting photos without mobs of people in them.

 

It's a wonder we didn't run in to each other, as we had breakfast at Storyteller's Café on Monday, and also visited Big Thunder Ranch that day.

 

We did not make it to Bengal BBQ this trip, and I didn't know about those bacon wrapped asparagus.  I'll have to get by there when I'm back at Disneyland next month.

 

We also enjoyed a Dalmatian Sundae this trip.

 

TCD

You know, I'd love to say "I'll see you there next month" but it ain't happening for us! It's good to be TCD! That asparagus wasn't as good as I was expecting (and I love bacon AND asparagus!). I think it was because they didn't really season it. It would have been great with some garlic and soy sauce slathered on before they grilled it!

If I ever go back on the 'wavy part' of the big ferris wheel I'll be sure to take some meclizine before hand.  Not taking it made for an interesting ride with vertigo. 

 

Loving your report, the room looks wonderful, a very nice place to recoup and relax.  You and TCD might have even been standing next to each other.  Small world indeed.

Isn't that crazy that we were at the same resort and everything?! We talked about doing the moving car on the Ferris wheel, but I was really scared it would mess me up pretty bad!

Sorry to hear about all of the troubles y'all had (van issues and motion sickness). I love Bethanie's expression when you are lighting the candles on the cake. She looks ecstatic!

Bacon wrapped asparagus at Bengal BBQ:

The asparagus came with a couple of lemon wedges. We ordered a small cup of ice water, at no charge. We squeezed the lemons into the water and added a touch of sweetener for some free lemonade!

Dia de los Muertos display, in Frontierland:

We visited the goats at Big Thunder Ranch. I LOVE goats!:

We had ice cream for lunch today, on Main Street. This was the Firehouse Dalmatian mint sundae - mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry in a waffle cup:

Chocolate ice cream with hot fudge, in a waffle cup:

I had read about this brick wall. I don't know how true the story is that I heard. Apparently this wall was used to test brick patterns and was never fixed before Disneyland's grand opening. Looking at this, you can see that the right side looks very different from the left side.:

We rode the Casey Jr. train, but we didn't squeeze into a cage. We sat right behind the driver:

We did the Storybook canal boats right after the little train:

Visited Toontown and met Mickey and Minnie. I think that was the first time I met characters:

I love corn chowder!  How was it?  

 

And your salad looks very nice.....that's a big piece of salmon!  

 

Sorry that you both had bouts of not feeling well on this trip.  I hope your last day is enjoyable.  

I loved the corn chowder - the little bit of bacon on top made it even better. When I was younger and if I got sick, my mom used to ask me what I wanted to eat. I always asked for corn chowder. It was one of my favorite things that she made - I never learned how to make it and now she's gone. So, I always get corn chowder when I can. I guess it sort of reminds me of my mom.

And that salad was awesome! I LOVE salmon, but it's one of those things I never cook at home. I had them add avocado to the salad, which I think was a wise decision. :)

Pictures from around the park:

Finally got my hands on a churro. I was a bit disappointed:

Busy day today! We're back in the room resting now. We need to do some laundry and pack - tomorrow is check-out day. Our shuttle won't pick us up until 8:00 pm tomorrow, so the plan is to leave our bags with bell services and then hit the parks again. I'll try to catch up a little bit now.

Kenneth wasn't feeling well yesterday, so we stayed in the room for a while. I talked him into going downstairs for lunch. We went to Storyteller's Cafe.

We both started with a bowl of corn chowder:

Along with some bread and corn muffins:

Kenneth had the turkey club and fries:

I had salmon and spinach salad:

I'm here! You couldn't have perfecter timing! We a just a month-ish away from hitting Disneyland.

Great pictures. Sorry about the feeling cruddy and I'm uber jealous of your suite. We'll be slumming it in our camper. :)

I hope you have a great time here! I'm jealous of anyone with a camper - it's our dream to have one, one day! :)

I never knew about the little house. How cool. Thank you!

I actually learned about the little house from a Disneyland blog I've been stalking for a while. Thanks for reading!

Ahh...nope, missed Carol's post :)

 

Okay... really like that resort; it's very pretty.  The room is very nice!

 

I MISS the submarine ride!!

The submarine was pretty fun for me - it's the first time I've done a ride like that!

I'm in.

 

And you aren't going to believe this, but the TCD gang was in Disneyland during part of the same time you were.  We finished our trip with two nights at the Grand Californian (Sunday the 18th and Monday the 19th).  Mrs. TCD and I just flew home on Tuesday, leaving the TCD twins behind.  We were in Disneyland for most of the day Sunday, and also hit up Small World for a final ride, and saw Mickey and the Magical Map.  We watched Paint the Night on Main Street on Sunday, and then the fireworks.  We skipped Fantasmic.  The rainy night you watched WOC, we watched from our balcony.  That had to be Monday night.  So, it looks like we were in the same resort at the same time!  It is a Small World, after all.

 

If you're still there, look for Twin #2 in World of Disney, just outside of the Downtown Disney exit from the GCR, and for Twin #1 on the Jungle Cruise.  She told me she saw a man in one of the newish brown Fort Wilderness shirts there this week. That wasn't Kenneth, was it?

 

We found the crowds for this visit to be much greater than when we visited last year. The twins say that attendance is way up this year because of all the 60th anniversary stuff.

 

Great job finding the Little Green Man's house.  I had never heard of this until this year's D23 convention. They had a video presentation of it, and had a recording of Walt reading that story!

 

TCD

Oh, man! I can't believe we missed you! We saw your daughter, from a distance, at Jungle Cruise. She was helping people onto the boats. By the time we got there, she was gone. When our boat pulled back in, she was back - we were guessing she went on break. So, we missed our chance to say hello. We were both wearing tan Fort Wilderness shirts on Sunday (I'm wearing mine again today).

Good job on the food pics!  

 

Sorry you got plane sick....that's no fun.  

 

I'm glad you enjoyed that gumbo, but I like mine dark....I make my own and I work that roux until it is very dark brown.  Maybe the one you had tasted better than it looks.  But everyone has different preferences I guess.  

 

I think I'd agree with you on the french toast....looks extremely sweet.  

 

I just may visit DL someday.  Time will tell.  I'll be interested in reading the rest of your report.

I don't really have much experience with gumbo, so I can't really compare this one to anything. :) More food pics in a while! I hope you make it out here one day!

That villa looks great!  Enjoying your TR.

That villa is great for hanging out, which we tend to do a good bit on vacation! Thanks for following along!

That's a big a** tent!

 

There are a few sites on both 1500 and 2000 with pads that won't accommodate something that big.  For example, the dimensions of the coquina pad on 1506 are 15 x 27, and 1518's is 32 x 15.  There are several sites with one of the pad dimensions only being 16' or 17', which would make things tight.  The other thing that may cause your problems on 1500 is that the grills are located on the pad, and take up space where you might want your tent to go.  Over on 2000, site 2002's pad is only 32 x14, and 2018's is 28 x 15.  Other than those two, the rest of the sites are much bigger, and the grills are located on a bump-out from the coquina pad, so they don't interfere with your tent space.

 

You should specifically note your tent size on your reservation, and ask not to be given 1506, 1518, 2002 or 2018,

 

Do you have a photo or a link to your tent? I'm curious what it looks like.

 

TCD

wonder if it's this one

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-13-x-9-Instant-Cabin-Tent-Sleeps-12/34109034

 

Google search had this one listed multiple times

That IS a big tent! I like it!

We did the Matterhorn. That ride will beat you to death. I had some bruises on my arm and Kenneth had a headache all day yesterday. We're blaming the Matterhorn! :dazzled:

Does anyone have this book?

It's about a leprechaun that lives at Disneyland. He lived on that property before Disneyland was built. According to the book, he has a house in Disneyland now.

We found his house! It's at the base of a tree, by the Indiana Jones sign:

We also ate at Cafe Orleans sometime. I really wanted to try the Monte Cristo and pommes frites. We also tried the gumbo, which I loved!

When you ride Buzz, you can provide your email for a free copy of the picture. Here's our picture (the scores are not correct):

At some point, we made it over to bug's land. We rode Heimlich's chew chew train, which is probably he shortest ride I've ever done:

We also rode Flik's flyers:

We also made it over to Paradise Pier to ride California Screamin and Mickey's Fun Wheel (we didn't do the Mickey's death wheel version):

We also spent some time in Cars Land:

And tried the cheddar garlic bagel twist and Red's Apple freeze from the cozy cones:

Awesome!!!  Don't ya just love that California Blue Sky!!!!

Yes! It's beautiful! The weather has been great, except for some rain during World of Color one night!

So, backtracking to Saturday - when I got up from a long nap, I was feeling a bit better. We wanted something quick and easy for dinner. We went down to Whitewater Snacks and grabbed some dinner.

Shredded beef nachos:

Basil pesto chicken salad sandwich:

After a full night's rest, we were ready to hit the parks on Sunday! We knew we had to do Fantasmic! that night, because it would not be going any other night while we're here. We also knew that it's a small world was going to shut down on Monday, for refurbishment. According to the schedule, Mickey and the magical map would only go Sunday and Monday. So, we knew we had to do those three things, if we didn't do anything else. As soon as we entered the park, we started rounding up as many fastpasses as we could. Here's what we had, shortly after entering the park.

Buzz and Fantasmic! are disconnected so they're almost like freebies. You could still get another fastpass immediately after getting those two. We went for Haunted Mansion because we felt like that line would get long pretty quickly. Right after getting the fastpass, we jumped in line for Haunted Mansion. I love the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay!

I was surprised to see the Hatbox Ghost in there. I assumed he would come out because he wasn't part of Nightmare.

We also made it to It's a Small World. I was on the lookout for Disney/Pixar characters during the whole ride!

I don't remember what order we did things, so I'll just share some of the pictures I have. Kenneth's been taking pictures with the camera, so I'll try to get some of those up as well.

We had breakfast at Flo's V8 cafe, in Cars Land one morning.

Brioche French toast (as much as I love sweets, this may have been a little too rich for me):

Chicken tamale breakfast (a little bit spicey, but delicious!):

Here's the front bathroom:

The bedroom:

And the second bathroom:

And the balcony: